Completed a 58 mile ride w/some 10-12% grade hills on a 79.1 GI fg conversion(switchbacks...I ain't gonna lie ) this past Saturday in Nashville, TN. The event was actually hosted by the city of Franklin, Tn. A small, but growing 'burb about 15-20 miles south of Nashville. It was for the Wounded Warrior project. They design and build bikes for post 9/11/01 Veterans who've lost limbs or are suffering from PTSS as a result of combat.

A truly humbling experience riding amongst people w/handcranks on recumbents and prosthetic limbs riding clipless on standard bikes. It's a nationwide yearly event started in 2006 here in the Mid-TN area. The kicker for us over-40 ss/fg riders was that I was the first entrant/completer to ride a fg for any portion of the ride. When I asked the event Marshall why no one had ever entered on a fg before she replied, "I don't think it's ever occurred to anyone to do it before. You're the first."

So, I'm going to offer a challenge next year to all the 'roadie club paceline' riders...and there were a several, believe me to ride the course on ss or fg.

The main thing was that the event generated over $100,000.00 for the Wounded Warrior Project fund for middle Tennessee. Anyone interested in participating in this event the remainder of this year or next just go to http://soldierride.org where there are links and general info.